Iceland votes 'no' to resuming EU talks

Iceland voted 'No' to resuming membership negotiations with the European Union, final referendum results showed Sunday, dealing a blow to Brussels which had been keen to welcome a new wealthy member.

In a vote held Saturday, 52.8 percent of Icelanders rejected the resumption of EU entry talks suspended 13 years ago, while 47.2 percent voted 'Yes', according to the official tally published by RUV, the public broadcaster.

Social Democratic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir, who favoured a 'Yes,' stressed that she didn't "see this as a setback."

"I see this as a victory for democracy," she told a press conference, pointing to a voter turnout of over 80 percent.

"I want to make it absolutely clear, this government is not going forward with the accession talks this term," she stressed.

This means any discussions of Icelandic accession are frozen at least until 2028 -- an apparent disappointment to Brussels, which had appeared willing to compromise on thorny issues to facilitate Iceland's accession.

Far-right leaders in Britain and France hailed the result.

"At a time when some are pushing for greater federalism and the transfer of sovereignty to the European Commission, this vote reminds us that another Europe is possible, a Europe of free, sovereign nations cooperating voluntarily on matters of common interest," France's Marine Le Pen wrote on X.

"Congratulations to Iceland on voting to keep their independence," Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote on the same platform.

The country of just under 400,000 people applied to join the EU in the wake of a 2009 financial crisis that devastated its economy.

Membership talks were then suspended in 2013 when a eurosceptic government came to power.

The island is already closely linked to the EU as a member of the EEA and the free-movement Schengen zone, ties which will remain unchanged.

The referendum result was non-binding but the government had vowed to respect it.

Debates ahead of the vote had mainly revolved around domestic and economic issues, though the war in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump's ambitions for neighbouring Greenland -- which he has mixed up with Iceland on several occasions -- also featured.

The campaign had "lifted discussions about the EU, about Iceland's place in the world, about our general geopolitical situation and status, to a higher level", Frostadottir said on Saturday after she cast her ballot. AFP